The Barefoot Investor

A great Australian financial adviser Scott Pape is the author of the best-selling book “The Barefoot Investor”. He once said “We’ll plant the seeds of wealth. We’ll watch them grow, and then, we’ll enjoy a life-changing harvest… Let’s begin”

THE BAREFOOT INVESTOR

This book is a fantastic read. I was surprised about that. I expected it to be dry, boring and without any practicality. To my amazement, the first part of the book was all about Scott’s life in rural Australia and about how this book was the Phoenix rising from the ashes of his life after his farm, house and livestock were destroyed in one of our typical raging bushfires.

You may have heard about the recent fires in Greece leaving peoples homes in ruins. Well that is how this book starts and I was touched by the way he was not all weepy about it, but instead, stoically and with humour, found a way to get back on track and rebuild his life. (I felt like crying about his Alpacas).

Scott Page writing style is that of a typical Aussie. He is a no bull-shit kind of guy and writes in the Aussie vernacular. When he gets to the step by step method of how to financially pull your arse out of the fire. He does it with humour, a little irreverence and a hole lot of very practical advice.

He has a weekly date night with his wife where they leave the kids at home, enjoy a glass of wine and dinner and as partners work on their weekly budgets and money plans.

FINANCIAL CONTROL IS NOT EASY

Scott talks about as children we have all sorts of insecurities.

Let me tell you now that doesn’t change even when you are fifty-something. Those negative scripts become ingrained because no-one knows your secret burdens. No-one challenges those negative scripts that auto-play in your head whenever things go bad. So they become ingrained and apart of who you are and eat at your self-confidence. Thus, you are trapped in a pattern of day in, day out life, at jobs you have no interest in, and relationships you have outgrown, in a sad financial state that seems to lock you in a lifestyle as surely as prison bars.

START TO BE SMART WITH MONEY

Learning this skill has more to do with behaviour than brains. Of course, saving is the beginning of investing and excuses are the death of investing. It takes courage to look at your financial situation and change it. There are nine steps to gaining control of your finances and you need to focus on doing just one thing at a time. This will help you to not get overwhelmed.

These headings sound a little silly until you read each chapter of Scott’s book and then they make sense. Oh, did I mention Scott is very fond of illustrations which I found lightened the subject. A picture is worth a thousand words, in which case this book could have been twice a s thick.

STEP 1 – Schedule a monthly date night to organise finances

STEP 2 – Set up your buckets

STEP 3 – Domino your debts

STEP 4 – Buy your home

STEP 5 – Supercharge your wealth

STEP 6 – Boost your mojo to three months

STEP 7- Get the banker of your back

STEP 8 – Nail your retirement number

STEP 9 – Leave a legacy

PLANTING THE SEEDS OF WEALTH

In three simple Barefoot Steps (and five Barefoot Date Nights) you’ve achieved what 95 per cent of the population will never do. You have:

Done something very un-Australian by cutting up your credit card(s) and begun the process of domino-ing your debts

Become one of the 7 per cent of Australians who have the right amount of insurance.

GROWING

Is about focus on earning more, saving more, and then intelligently and tax effectively compounding your money over and over. So in this section of the book Scott explains how you can double your income.

• Show you how to save up a six-figure house deposit in 20 months, and introduce you to a young, single woman on average dough who bought her own home

• Step out a simple strategy that puts your investing on autopilot so you’ll never have to worry about money again

• Secure your kids’ financial future — first by explaining Scott’s ‘jam jar’ approach to teaching financial education, and then by giving you an investment plan that could deliver a $140,000 cheque on their 21st birthday.

• He revels a plan to triple your money in 10 years with a little-known investment property play.

HARVEST

In Harvest, Scott shows you how to

• Save $77, 641 on your mortgage and wipe out almost seven years of payments

• Reveal the dirty secret that the mortgage industry doesn’t want you to know

• Step out your ‘retirement number’ and show you how to nail it

• Give you the phone numbers of independent financial experts who can help you … not sell you.

Make a commitment to managing the most precious resource you have — your time — to create a legacy that will live long after you’re gone.

MY CONCLUSION

This is the only money guide you will ever need and a must buy book.

Finance is a dry subject and a scary one at times. However, the Barefoot Investor is an easy read and thought-provoking in the way it makes you change the way you think about money. Scott lays down and easy to follow step by step guide. Nothing is hidden, he is very transparent about his field of expertise (Finance and Investing)

Here are a few people that have high praise for Scott Page

Scott is one of the best communicators on financial matters in Australia — in fact, one of the best communicators full stop. More importantly, what he writes not only makes common sense, it’s correct and has integrity. He’s a commentator with no axe to grind (apart from the one at his farm)

— Alan Kohler, ABC Finance Presenter, Constant Investor

I have always enjoyed reading and listening to Scott talk about money. He is my sort of money guy as he talks in a language we can all understand. More importantly, he speaks the truth about money. There are, barring a miracle Lotto win, few shortcuts to wealth, it takes time and effort. This book can really help you to take control of your money. Scott’s no-nonsense style is easy to read and he provides a step-by-step guide that will give readers a path to financial security.

Why is this the #1 book I recommend to anyone who wants to invest in financial freedom? Because it is much more than just another money book. Scott provides a framework, great ideas and compelling writing to bring to life practical strategies that will truly allow the reader to tread their own path — to achieve financial security, live a purposeful life and leave a lasting legacy.

—Arun Abey, co-author of How Much Is Enough?

Scott Pape has delivered on a promise often made but rarely kept: this is useful, inspiring and practical advice. His story about the apple tree is worth the entire cost of the book.